Should you live abundantly? Would living abundantly make you feel guilty?

For some, it may because, especially today, we value frugality. Abundance has gotten a bad rap.

Some people equate abundance with excess, excess with greed, and greed with evil. Therefore, they think that seeking abundance is wrong.

In light of the current economic crisis, coming out of a period of conspicuous consumption, there may be a tendency to go too far the other way. But we’re really talking apples and oranges here and that’s an important distinction to make.

Bigg success is life on your own terms. In other words, to each their own.

As long as you’re not hurting anyone by having abundance, then enjoy it. And as we’ve discussed, abundance usually comes to those who find ways of helping others win as well.

So with all that in mind, here’s our fifth and final step to finding abundance in a world of scarcity:

Share more and you’ll have more

Want to feel like you're living abundantly? Then give something away!

Seems counter-intuitive, doesn't it?

If you can't afford to share, you're not seeing abundance. When you give your money or your time away, you're signaling to your brain (and your soul) that you have more than you need.

Research shows that sharing has benefits as great as receiving. Allan Luks, the Executive Director of the New York chapter of Big Brothers, Big Sisters, coined the phrase “helper’s high” in his book: The Healing Power of Good.

Giving creates an endorphin rush similar to working out. This is the “helper’s high.

Give is a verb. Verbs mean action. So take action today … give!

You can’t afford it?

Can you give something you don’t use any longer? You may be able to give and de-clutter at the same time!

Do you have any canned goods you could donate?

Can you give your time instead? Give your attention to someone who’s lonely. Sometimes it’s not, “Buddy, can you spare a dime?” It’s “Buddy, can you spare some time?”

It’s funny how those who are most critical of people with abundance are often the last people to share any of theirs.

To twist a line from Seinfeld, can you spare a share? It’s the final step to finding abundance. That’s bigg success!

It’s not what you make that really counts; it’s how much you keep. We base that on studies that show how millionaires became millionaires. Sure, they’re always trying to earn more, but they really watch what they spend. That’s one of their secrets to success in many cases.

Only you know your terms

We were recently at a birthday party for our friend, Tim. His wife had a really cool cake for him. It’s the picture you see with this post.

We were talking with Tim about his Porsche. He’s one of our regulars here at BIGG Success and he commented about how we’re always talking about frugality. A Porsche may not be consistent with that mindset.

But BIGG success is life on your own terms. If your terms include having a Porsche parked in the garage, then more power to you!

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That’s one of the things we love about our definition of bigg success – it’s not judgmental. I can’t tell you what’s best for you. Just like you don’t know what’s right for me. Heck, sometimes I don’t even know what’s right for me!

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That’s the beauty of life on your own terms. When you’re living it, you don’t judge other people because you think, “Oh, that’s life on their own terms.”

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We try to report what works – what research shows helps you get to that next level of success in your life. But we can’t tell anyone what the right choice is for them. You decide because you’re the one who lives with it.